The photo above shows a close-up sideview of the flowers and glaucous stem leaves of rose willowherb as seen in the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness.......August 3, 2011.

Photo
at right of seed capsules of Epilobium obcordatum from Strawberry Mt, Strawberry
Wilderness........early September 1999.Characteristics:

Rose willowherb is a pretty, low growing wildflower with spreading
stems growing from a stout woody base. Plants are from 10-20 cm tall. The herbage
is smooth and glaucous (blue-gray green) with subsessile, ovate leaves ranging
from 8-16 mm long.. The margins of the leaves are either entire or slightly
serrate.

The petals are rose-colored, obcordate in shape, and 1.5-1.8
cm long. The calyx is about 15 mm long and is glandular-puberulent with narrow
lobes. The filaments of the stamens are yellow, nearly equaling the calyx in
length. The style is longer than the calyx (Notice the length of the styein
he photos above and below.). The seed capsules, seen at right, are linear-clavate,
glandular-puberulent, and from 2-2.5 cm long.

Habitat:

Rose willowherb is found growing in subalpine to alpine meadows,
talus slopes, and on rocky ledges in the mountains.

Range:

Rose willowherb is found in mountainous areas from the central
Cascades of Oregon and south through the Sierra Nevada to California and Nevada,
and then east to the Blue Mts. and Steens Mt. of Oregon and the Sawtooth Mts. of central Idaho.